Romans 1
New American Standard Bible
The Gospel Exalted
1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, [a](A)called as an apostle, (B)set apart for (C)the gospel of God, 2 which He (D)promised beforehand through His (E)prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born (F)of a [b]descendant of David (G)according to the flesh, 4 who was declared (H)the Son of God with power according to the [c]Spirit of holiness [d]by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and (I)apostleship [e]to bring about the (J)obedience of faith among (K)all the Gentiles in behalf of His name, 6 among whom you also are the (L)called of Jesus Christ;
7 to all who are (M)beloved of God in Rome, called as [f](N)saints: (O)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, (P)I thank my God through Jesus Christ [g]for you all, because (Q)your faith is being proclaimed throughout the world. 9 For (R)God, whom I (S)serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly (T)I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers requesting if perhaps now, at last by (U)the will of God, I will succeed in coming to you. 11 For (V)I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be [h]established; 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 (W)I do not want you to be unaware, (X)brothers and sisters, that often I (Y)have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some (Z)fruit among you also just as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 (AA)I am [i]under obligation both to Greeks and to the [j](AB)uncultured, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So, for my part, I am eager to (AC)preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not (AD)ashamed of the gospel, for (AE)it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the (AF)Jew first and also to (AG)the Greek. 17 For in it (AH)the righteousness of God is revealed [k]from faith to faith; as it is written: “[l](AI)But the righteous one will live by faith.”
Unbelief and Its Consequences
18 For (AJ)the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who (AK)suppress the truth [m]in unrighteousness, 19 because (AL)that which is known about God is evident [n]within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For (AM)since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, (AN)being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not [o]honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became (AO)futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 (AP)Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and they (AQ)exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and [p]crawling creatures.
24 Therefore (AR)God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be (AS)dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for [q](AT)falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, (AU)who is blessed [r]forever. Amen.
26 For this reason (AV)God gave them over to (AW)degrading passions; for their women exchanged natural relations for that which is contrary to nature, 27 and likewise the men, too, abandoned natural relations [s]with women and burned in their desire toward one another, (AX)males with males committing [t]shameful acts and receiving in [u]their own persons the due penalty of their error.
28 And just as they did not see fit [v]to acknowledge God, (AY)God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper, 29 people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are (AZ)gossips, 30 slanderers, [w](BA)haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, (BB)disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, (BC)unfeeling, and unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of (BD)death, they not only do the same, but also (BE)approve of those who practice them.
Footnotes
- Romans 1:1 Lit a called apostle
- Romans 1:3 Lit seed
- Romans 1:4 Or spirit
- Romans 1:4 Or as a result of
- Romans 1:5 Lit for obedience
- Romans 1:7 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
- Romans 1:8 Or concerning you all, that...
- Romans 1:11 Or strengthened
- Romans 1:14 Lit debtor
- Romans 1:14 I.e., non-Hellenes
- Romans 1:17 Or by
- Romans 1:17 Or But the one who is righteous by faith shall live
- Romans 1:18 Or by
- Romans 1:19 Or among
- Romans 1:21 Lit glorify
- Romans 1:23 Or reptiles
- Romans 1:25 Lit the lie
- Romans 1:25 Lit unto the ages
- Romans 1:27 Lit of the female
- Romans 1:27 Lit shamelessness
- Romans 1:27 Lit themselves
- Romans 1:28 Lit to have God in knowledge
- Romans 1:30 Or hateful to God
Romans 1
Modern English Version
Salutation
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are called by Jesus Christ:
7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s Desire to Visit Rome
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing, I mention you always in my prayers, 10 making request if, by any means, now at last I might find a way in the will of God to come to you.
11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be strengthened. 12 This is so that I may be encouraged together with you by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 Now I would not have you unaware, brothers, that I often intended to come to you (but was prevented until now), that I might have a harvest among you also, even as among the other Gentiles.
14 I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. 15 So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
The Definition of the Gospel
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”[a]
The Guilt of Mankind
18 The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth through unrighteousness. 19 For what may be known about God is clear to them since God has shown it to them. 20 The invisible things about Him—His eternal power and deity—have been clearly seen since the creation of the world and are understood by the things that are made, so that they are without excuse.
21 Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him or give thanks to Him as God, but became futile in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools. 23 They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their own bodies among themselves. 25 They turned the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged the natural function for what is against nature. 27 Likewise the men, leaving the natural function of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another, men with men doing that which is shameful, and receiving in themselves the due penalty of their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not proper. 29 They were filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, proud, boastful, inventors of evil things, and disobedient toward parents, 31 without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, calloused, and unmerciful, 32 who know the righteous requirement of God, that those who commit such things are worthy of death. They not only do them, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Footnotes
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.